At Tar Valon
by Alice Cullen Fan
Summary: This is the story of one girls journey through Tar Valon. Rated T for WoT swears :P
1. A long journey!

**A/N : Right. I'm writing this while going for a nice long car drive. No internet, no nothing, so PLEASE excuse anything I've done wrong, any facts or the like that I've messed up. This I mostly wrote for my own enjoyment, so if you like it, GREAT! If you don't, well that's your opinion /**

**A/N #2 : Ok, I might do a prologue that contains what happened when Ireana Sedai came :P.**

I was beginning to get a little sore from all the riding we had been doing since leaving the town of Four Kings. We had only stopped once today, to have a quick snack. That scant amount of bread and cheese seemed like it happened ages ago now, as we ride through yet another small village along the road.

"Can't we stop, please Ireana Sedai?" I pleaded with the Aes Sedai who had come through Four Kings yesterday, recruiting for the White Tower, Tar Valon, "I'm getting very sore, and my stomach has been growling for the last two hours straight!"

Not even turning around in her saddle, Ireana Sedai simply said, "No, child, we must keep riding if we wish to reach Tar Valon in decent time. Also, your stomach cannot have been bothering you for the last two hours straight for we have been on the road for less than that. Furthermore, in Tar Valon, as a Novice, if you spoke to a sister like that, you would be sent to the Mistress of Novices very quickly."

"Yes Ireana Sedia," was all I could reply without seeming rude. So I kept riding in silence.

We continued riding, the days seeming longer and longer as we rode on. Then on the 3rd day of riding, as we topped yet another rise, I saw a huge tower, pure white. I gaped in amusement. I'd never, in my wildest dreams imagined that it was so, huge! At least 100 spans high! I halted my horse, sat there, and stared. I almost laughed hysterically in despair. _Light! I'm going to get lost!_ Was all I could think. Ireana Sedai, noticing that I wasn't following, turned around and said, "Come Child, we won't reach the tower sitting there and gaping"

Still speechless, I heeled my horse forward and followed Ireana Sedai forward.

It turned out, due to the immense size of Tar Valon, that we wouldn't actually be in Tar Valon until this time tomorrow. I didn't weep, for fear of another lecture from Ireana, but I wanted to! Light I wanted to!

**A/N: what do you think? I like it :P If you noticed anything wrong(ex. the tower is only 400 spans high) review and tell me! I love to know everything that's wrong so I can fix it!! Ok? Ok :P**


	2. Finally There!

A/N: I'm writing this at the same time as chapter one, so I'm still sitting in the car, so I still don't have internet access

**A/N: I'm writing this at the same time as chapter one, so I'm still sitting in the car, so I still don't have internet access. So once again, tell me of any and all faults. I WANT to know EVERYTHING that's wrong (so NOTHING is too small to tell me ok?)**

**Right here's the chapter. Which you shall review about :P I just realized that you still haven't learned the main characters name lol! I shall tell you... eventually. We'll seee!!**

Sitting in the line to get over one of the huge, arching bridges I fidgeted with my long hair impatiently. We were behind a long line of peddlers, gleemen, and merchants. Dotted among the lines, I saw a few woman who I guessed were sisters, due to the bubble of space people gave them. Were giving Ireana and I, for that matter.

"Come child, I tire of waiting in line. We must have your name put down in the novice book soon. You have great potential." Then under her breath, I heard Ireana mutter, "Can't expect a bloody Nynaeve al'Meara with every girl."

I didn't understand what she meant by this, but from an unfortunate instance earlier on our trip, I learned not to ask when Ireana did something that I didn't understand.

_I sat by the campfire, eating the meat that Ireana had cooked for us. It was quite good, so I said, "Thank you Ireana Sedai. This is very yummy!"_

_She just looked at me coolly. She didn't say thank you, child, as she had done. when I remarked about it any other night. So I assumed she wasn't in a very good mood. I understood this, as just yesterday, I had been in a wicked temper, barely managing to conceal it from Ireana. _

_When I asked her if she was feeling well, she simply muttered about not having enough yellow sisters. This made no sense to me, and when I said as much, she gave me a very lengthy talking too about not meddling n a sisters buisness._

"Aladura! Hurry up child, or I shall leave you here!" Her face was completely serious, so I quickly followed her.

I quickly crossed the bridge, not looking over the edge to notice how far below me the water was. It was a good thing I didn't, or I would have fainted for sure. For we were now at the highest part of the bridge, and I can't swim.

Entering the city, I gaped, the buildings were amazing! The fish market, the buildings looked like fish! There was an in, that looked like a living cat! "Ireana Sedai," I began, "Who made this city? It is so beautiful!"

"Oigers, child. This s the part of the city that they had free reign. They did do an excellent job, didn't they?"

"Yes," I said hesitantly, not sure if she wanted an answer, "They did."

"Stay close child, we are nearing the tower now, and it would not do for you to get lost."

"Yes Ireana Sedai." I mumbled, becoming very nervous.

**A/N: I'm going to end the chapter here, because I'm almost wherever I'm going(I honestly have no idea where that is)**


	3. In the Tower!

A/N: FINALLY here(where I've been going lol

**A/N: FINALLY here(where I've been going lol! Not the chapter) I'm glad I'm out of the car and able just to sit down! I was kind of getting a little uncomfortable :P Anyway, that's all I have to say lol! I guess that's what happens when you write the chapters one after another!!**

I wished Ireana wouldn't walk so fast. I was having a hard time keeping up and I wanted to look around a bit. "You'll have plenty of time to look around the tower later child. In fact, soon enough, you'll wish that you could never see the colour white again!" was all Ireana said when I asked her if she could slow down a little.

I was so absorbed in my thoughts and waking quickly, that I didn't notice that Ireana had stopped walking. I walked a good 10 feet before I noticed that she had stopped. Blushing, I ran back to the door she had stopped in front of.

"Know the location of this door, child. This is the Mistress of Novices office, and you will be spending more time here then you might wish."

"Yes Ireana Sedai!" I said quickly.

She knocked on the door and waited for the cool voice within to shout "enter!" before opening the door.

Entering the office, I looked around. There was a plain wooden desk, a mirror and a stool with a slipper on it. There was also a wardrobe that was closed and locked(**Sorry! Going by memory!! )**

Sitting behind the desk was a severe looking woman with her hair tightly pulled back revealing her ageless face. She was wearing a dress of excellent cut, with a decent neckline, and made of blue silk slashed with green. I admired that dress very much and I knew that I wanted one. I resolved to go and get one on my first trip to the city.

"Hello Alayana , did you get the pidgeon I sent you?" Ireana asked the woman sitting behind the desk asked, who I presumed was the mistress of novices.

"Yes, Ireana, I just received it yesterday. I presume this is the child of which you spoke?

"Yes, Alayana, it is. I was quite surprised to find her. She has quite a lot of talent, as long as you don't hold her up next to Nyneave. In fact, one day, she may be as powerful as the Amyrilin."

"I can see that for myself," Alayana said dryly. "You should stop and think. She has heard you now, so now she knows that she will have a great amount of potential and it will go to her head. You, child," she said, addressing me now, "forget everything we have just said. Nobody told you this, for it is the second greatest rudeness to speak of the strength of a channeler. You hear me child?"

I blinked. Ireana had never been so sharp with me, "Yes Alayana Sedai," I said

"Good. She has meekness. Eldara!" She suddenly shouted, "come here!!"

A woman entered the office. I guessed her age around 23 or so. She wore her long, thick, brown hair loose, allowing it to fall in waves around her shoulders, down to her waist. Her green eyes looked like they were tired. She would be quite beautiful if it wasn't for an unfortunately large nose in the middle of her face.

"Yes Alayana Sedai? You called me?" the woman said.

_She must be Eldara _I thought.

"Yes, I want you to help Aladura get settled in a room. Also, get her set up with a new dress, and find a older novice to help her."

"Yes Alayana Sedai," was all the woman said to this.

"Come, child," she said to me.

I quickly followed her, not knowing what to say.

"How much do you know of the tower, child?" She asked me suddenly.

"n-n-nothing." I stuttered, nervous that my ignorance might be punished.

"Well then, I guess I'll just give you a quick run-through. When you first join the tower if you are a woman who can channel, then you are a novice. After you have progressed far enough in your studies, then you are raised to Accepted. But this isn't as easy as it sounds, You have to pass a test, which I am not aloud to speak of. The time you spend as a novice can vary. Many people spend at least a year as a novice. Most spend quite a lot more. Once you are accepted, you will pursue your own studies and are granted more freedom, but you must know that, to an Aes Sedai, you are just a short step above novice." She said this while walking quickly up a set of stairs. "You can identify Accepteds by the banded hem on their dresses, and normally the serpent ring on their finger. Aes Sedai, you will learn to know by an ageless face."

She stopped in front of a door as she finished speaking. "Here you go!" Eldara said, "This will be your room while you stay in the tower. Here, I'll show you where things are."

Entering the room she showed me three plain white dresses, and three plain white shifts. Then, quietly, she said "do you want to know a secret? Well, it's known to all the novices, but I might as well show you. Make you seem like you know these things already?" she smiled at me, in a friendly manner and I knew that I trusted her.

"Ok," I said, "what is it?"

She led me to the bed where there was a very small hole in the wall which you wouldn't have noticed unless you knew it was there. "With this,' she said, "you can talk with the girl in the next room." I was surprised at this, I would have thought that the Aes Sedai would have sealed off something like this. I, however, wasn't going to complain. They might have done it on purpose though. Whatever they may be, Idiots was not one of them.

"Right." Eludra said, as if remembering that she still had more to do. "we have to get you a guide. A mentor of sorts. An older novice to show you around. I know! How about the novice with the adjoining room. The one with the whisper hole next to yours?" She winked at me then, as if she was telling me a huge secret.

So we exited my room and walked to the room to the left of my room. Eldara impatiently knocked on the door. Pounded would be more accurate. "Normally Accepted don't do novices the courtesy of knocking first, but I'm in a good mood today."

Then the door was opened by a short woman with jet black hair, tilted eyes, and a hooked nose. She was quite beautiful._ Saldean _I thought. She wore an identical dress to the ones Eldara had showed me back in my room. When the woman saw us, she quickly curtsied to Eldara, and gave me a curious glance.. "Yes Accepted?" she said politely, while looking curiously at me, in my blue woolens.

"Helena, I would like you to show Aladura here around the tower. You have one of my classes next, I shall speak to the Mistress of Novices about you skipping that class to show Aladura her way around the tower."

"Yes Eldara," she said curtseying again. "Come on!' she added excitedly to me, "where is your room?"

I glanced back at Eldara, but she was already walking away. So, to Helena I said, "It's right here, beside yours!"

"That's great!" she exclaimed happily. "Did Eldara," she said the name with disdain, "tell you about the 'whisper-holes'?"

"Yes, she did." I was grinning. So far, everybody was very nice here.

"Great!! Right, we have to get you into novice white before any Aes Sedai see you, trust me when I say that they won't take 'I'm new' as an excuse for not wearing white."

She quickly ushered me into the room, having me change into a pure white dress that fit quite well. "ok, what would you like to know first?"

I had no idea what there was to learn. So I said, "um, I'm not sure. There's so much that needs to be learnt."

"Well," she said, "I can't teach you about channeling, only Accepted and Aes Sedai can do that, in fact, novices aren't even allowed to channel by themselves, without Accepted or Aes Sedai supervision. I know! I'll teach you all the rules of the tower! No point having you sent to the Mistress of Novices out of ignorance."

She began to drone on and on about all the rules of novices. It seemed that there were more rules for being a novice, then there were for a 2 or 3 year old child!

"glancing at the sun outside, she said, "Ok! I have just enough time to give you a short tour around the tower."

Leading me around the tower, she showed me where the kitchens were, how novices got their food, where novices eat their food, the library, the gardens, then she showed me, winking slyly, a secret passage out of the tower. "Not that you'll use it," she said when I asked why she was showing me if one of the novice rules was to never leave the tower without permission of an Aes Sedai, and an Aes Sedai escort.

"As for your classes, well, you'll have to find those for yourself, as I don't know which classes you have."

"Ok, Helena." I said.

Just then, a bell rang loudly through the halls. "Blood and ashes!" Helena swore loudly, "Sorry Aladura! I've got to run! I'm going to be late for my class with Ariana Sedai, and she has a wicked temper and a quick finger to point to the Mistress of Novice's office for the poor novice who dares and be late for her class."

Without another word, she turned around and sprinted off, leaving me to try and find my way back to my room.

**A/N: Yay! Finally done this chappie! It is really long, isn't it? I'm pretty happy with it. Again, if you noticed any problems review and tell me, ok? That's all :P**


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